*954**the area code* - -KINGDOM OF JOGA-

[‘broward county’ / ‘florida’]

*JULIAN PEREZ*

Area codes 954 and 754 are the area codes for Broward County, Florida, United States.

Notable cities within the numbering plan area are

Fort Lauderdale,

Plantation,

Hollywood,

Sunrise,

Pompano Beach,

Coral Springs,

Deerfield Beach,

Davie,

Weston,

Dania Beach,

Oakland Park

and Pembroke Pines

Area code 954 went into service on September 11, 1995 in a split from area code 305, which was the original and sole area code for Florida in 1947, when the North American Numbering Plan was created. Broward County had used 305 for 48 years, and numerous splits over the years had made 305 more or less coextensive with the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area. This split was intended as a long-term solution, but within five years 954 was already close to exhaustion due to South Florida’s explosive growth and the proliferation of auxiliary devices, such as cell phones, pagers, and fax machines.

In November 2000, the Florida Public Service Commission approved the use of an overlay area code to service Broward County, after a telecommunications industry group sought alternatives to relieve the strain on the county. It was projected that 954 was to be exhausted by the third quarter of 2002. The North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA) announced on December 4, 2000 an area code overlay plan for relief, assigning area code 754 to the same territory in Broward County.[1] The area code was activated on August 1, 2001[2] and began use on April 1, 2002.[3] As the overlay plan required, ten-digit dialing became mandatory in Broward. As 954 exchanges are exhausted, new numbers use area code 754.